


Barely Lucid, Working Hard

by Lafeae



Series: Whump/Hurt/Comfort challenge [8]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Boss/Employee Relationship, Challenge Response, Fever, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, M/M, Power Dynamics, Pre-Slash, Whump, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-10-27 11:08:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17765654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lafeae/pseuds/Lafeae
Summary: Joey’s had the luck of being employed by Kaiba for six months....but every day is like walking a tightrope.When he gets sick, he knows he can’t call in or risk everything he’s worked for, but his thoughts are getting racy and....Kaiba’s getting weird.This can’t be good.—Puppyshipping





	Barely Lucid, Working Hard

**Author's Note:**

> M for indecent thoughts, but no real smut. 
> 
> I feel like this is really....life experience here XD my butt was sick making this so yay?

Ibuprofen and coffee wasn't Joey's ideal breakfast, but he didn't have time for much else. Even if Serenity's sizzling omurice smelled amazing. He had to ignore it, he couldn't stop moving—he had chosen to get as much sleep as possible. However much that was in between coughing fits in the middle of the night. After the fourth time, he stopped counting.

"You sure you don't wanna call in?" Serenity asked.

"Nah. Can't."

"But you're sick."

Joey shrugged. "It ain't that bad. Just allergies."

It was only wheezing. And his nose and throat felt like they were covered in a wet tissues. And he could only breathe out of one nostril. Plus there was the headache, the chills that seemed to be on and off, and the general ache of _everything_. He was running on zero. Zero and coffee, to be precise.

"I heard you coughing last night,” Serenity said. She poked at her breakfast and watched while Joey shimmied on a tie and tried to flatten out his dress shirt. As if ironing it the night before hadn't been good enough. "Kaiba will understand, you know."

"Ha! That's funny."

A yogurt and lunchmeat was grabbed from the fridge. Tissues were shoved into his pockets, though he couldn't find where he'd left the decongestant.

"Don't overwork yourself, Joey. Seriously. I don't want a call from the hospital."

Joey slammed the door behind him.

—

Serenity's morbid words hung in his head. It really depended on how the day went, honestly. Any other day he could have just sucked it up, kept blowing snot in a tissue and spitting in wastebaskets until his throat was raw, and he'd be good. That was the life of the...receptionist, secretary, aide-thing that Kaiba made him and refused to define. The constant dump of paperwork and random errands told him what he was, even if his badge didn't.

Except for today. Today had to be the exhibition to end all exhibitions. He was sure that most of Domino had been brought to a standstill—not quite a tournament, not quite an expo. Something in the middle.

That was the reason that he couldn't call in. Not that he ever called in, or was ever late for that matter. This job came with one very, very fragile string: Kaiba, himself.

Joey dangled like a marionette while Kaiba directed him this way and that, holding a pair of scissors at the strings and threatening to let him go at anytime, for any reason. Hawkishly beautiful blue eyes always followed him, waiting for the foul up, the missed memo, arriving late or leaving early. He'd practically gotten on his knees and kowtowed for this job—out of necessity for him and Serenity, and perhaps his own...curiosity of feelings—he wasn't going to lose it over something stupid.

So, no. He couldn't call in or be late for, at minimum, a year he told himself. He'd made it seven months. Five more, and then maybe he would be off the ledge. Maybe.

For twenty minutes, he got to sit at his desk. Go through a stack of reports and check through emails, voicemails, sticky notes. "Fuck, Kaib' stop writin' so damn small, man..."he cursed as he jotted down notes onto his phone.

The secretary next to him laughed. Joey blushed and laughed with her, though it turned into a phlegmy cough.

"Oh, Joey, are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah. Yeah. Jus' uh...office bug. Ya know."

"Oh, yes. My son has it...and so does his whole school. I made him stay home today," she mentioned. Joey grinned wide and shrugged.

A small alarm started trilling on his phone. Simultaneously, Kaiba exited the office with Roland and locked the door behind him, passing his briefcase off to Joey. They strode off to the elevator. "Let's go, Wheeler."

"Yeah. Got everything. Uh...called the tailor. They said they ain't gettin' in any of the Char—charwhatsit's silk stuff 'til Monday."

"Then you didn't press hard enough."

Joey picked the floor and nodded to the secretary. "I did though. Said it was fuckin' important—," Roland glanced at him, and he covered his mouth, "—'Scuse me, important, an' they said there's floodin' or somethin'. Even talked t' the one guy...uh...uh...Bellemieux! Yeah, him. Said it can't happen."

"Hmph."

God, Joey's head hurt. Another tough detail like that and his brain would explode out his eyes. The wheeze in his chest grumbled, and he sputtered a small cough into his elbow. A handkerchief was in his face, held between delicate, slender fingers, when he looked up.

Wordless, he took it and coughed with it close before handing it back.

"Why would I want that, Wheeler?" Kaiba asked, contemptuous.

Joey blinked. "Uh. I dunno, I..."

The elevator stopped and Kaiba walked out, leaving him staring at the executive's taut behind as it got further and further away. He shook his head, ignoring his fever dreams.

Still bewildered, Joey stuffed the handkerchief into his front pocket and sprinted to catch up, his body hating every move he made. Fuck. He would make it through this. Just today, and he'd have the weekend.

—

By noon, everything was in full swing. Beyond the overwhelmed KaibaCorp. staff, everyone else seemed to be off given that the whole city was practically in shutdown, about as close to Battle City as Joey could imagine, though it felt much, much worse. He was running around everywhere and stopping frequently to catch his breath or hack up a lung, whichever came first.

No unseemly demand wasn't met. Whatever Kaiba asked for, no matter how minuscule or strange, was brought. It just meant trying to navigate the frozen city or the too-loud staffers who, seemingly, saw him as some coffee-fetching cockroach until he flashed a high-clearance badge. He realised very quickly what the multi-coloured strips on his badge were. Full access, top secret clearances. Same as Mokuba, or Roland and security staff. He didn't know if that was a blessing or a curse.

For now, it meant he could use private corners to just stop and let his pounding head relax against the cool metal wall while he decipher the five _billion_ bullet points on his phone. The fuck was half of this stuff? Probably computer parts. Or clothes. Or weird food he'd never tried. Though he always wanted to try.

Maybe that was why he stuck around. This job was ridiculous, demeaning, left him both with his nose in the air (checks came with Kaiba's signature and a KC logo), but his chin to his chest.

God, he was so confused.

He just wanted to be a professional duelist. This was a route, supposedly. So close to everything. Learning things 'hands on, from the inside' Kaiba said with a velvety tone and smouldering eyes.

Maybe...maybe he kind of wanted Kaiba, too. This wasn't exactly the way to attain him. Especially not being paid by him. What did he think, that good work ethic would win over the world's biggest workaholic? Close contact meant pretty much nothing, though he found his eyes wandering and he was sure, one-hundred percent positive, that he'd seen Kaiba looking back at him with curious, roving eyes, not just making sure he was keeping pace. Kaiba had flashed plenty of little smiles.

God, he didn't have time for this!

On cue, his phone rang and he touched the earpiece. "Wheeler."

" _Where the hell are you?_ " Kaiba asked.

Quickly, he bolted off towards the KaibaDome, sliding his way through bodies and fighting back a coughing fit. "Uh, headin' through a back door. Got the whatchmacallits Mokuba was talkin' about. Those biscuit things, an' then I was gonna head to check on some of the duelists. See if they need some stuff, get that squared away with security...I..."

Sweat slicked down his back and his heart palpitated the faster he went. His cheeks were so hot they were itchy and chaffing. The back of his hand pressed against them.

" _You have twenty minutes. Schedule is backed up and we're cutting some demos short._ "

"Oh great..."

" _Excuse me_?"

Joey squeezed his eyes closed and clenched his teeth as he coughed from his nostrils and the corners of his mouth. He needed water or something to coat his throat, because it felt like he was about breathe fire. "Nothin'. I got it, Kaib'. Don't worry about it."

Silence, but he heard Kaiba breathing. His nails dug into the pastry box. " _Are you sick, Wheeler?_ "

"No. Jus' uh...allergies. Spring hits me bad."

" _Mm_."

"I'll be there in twenty."

" _Fifteen_."

Joey's mouth dropped. "But you said—!"

The call disconnected, and Joey swung around to kick the wall, regretting it immediately.

This job was gonna kill him.

—

Everything just ached. Joey's whole body was a sweaty, pulsating mess and he knew he was flush. Great. Kaiba was about ten feet front him fresh off a crowd-roaring speech, wiping his brow and standing all calm and casual in the pure white suit. Joey remembered picking it up from the tailor, the dry-cleaner, digging into a guy and almost begging for them to rush the job because nothing was ever instantaneous but the tech guru was insatiable.

He wondered how Kaiba fucked.

Was it all fast for his gratification or did he actually keep pace with a partner? Maybe it was something like both. Made sure that he took care of himself and then let the partner have their way and service themselves. Which made Kaiba some weird kind of sex automaton and...

...his feverish thoughts were definitely getting out there, he realised mid-rambled thought.

Kaiba was walking towards him and he was flustered, burning under his collar but chilled in his chest and shivering. "You talk to the contestants?"

"Y-Yeah."

"They know their doing speed duels, techs have them set up?"

"They said they did. Ran set-ups and checked everything out," Joey said, not exactly remembering. But there were guys talking to him, telling him they were 'all clear' while complaining about all the hoops to jump for this. They had no idea. "We're good."

Kaiba stared at him, wide-eyed and scrutinising. His lips were pinched and his brows furrowed. The executive made such...picture perfect expressions. Beautiful. Even when mad (especially mad) his eyes fucking sparkled.

"Somethin' on my face?" He asked when Kaiba said nothing.

"You mean other than red food dye?"

"Huh?"

Kaiba clicked his tongue. "Nothing. Go away, Wheeler. There's something else you can be doing. Unless you're too sick to do it."

"I told ya, I ain't sick."

"Right. And I'm not a billionaire."

Joey rolled his eyes and took a few steps away, the handkerchief pulled from his pocket. He wiped sweat off his face but looked for the red food colouring, realising that Kaiba must have meant the flush. The handkerchief was a little hazy. Shit. He just needed to make it like...three more hours.

"Allergies, man. Allergies. Ya need anythin' else?"

"You. In a bed," Kaiba said.

Joey blinked. "I...what now?"

"Tch. Go do something useful, Wheeler. Get out of my hair, I don't need you right now."

Joey folded the handkerchief and dabbed his neck as he ambled away, barely able to walk straight. He needed some cold tablets, and he'd be good as new. Because he knew that Kaiba didn't just say that he needed him, Joey Wheeler, in a bed. That was his fever-dream fantasies pasting themselves into this reality.

—

The rest of the night dragged on, each minute more headache and nausea inducing than the last. The medicine barely put a dent in Joey, but at least he didn't have to worry about hearing Kaiba say crazy things anymore. His fertile imagination was in check.

The sun was waning by the time they got in the car and were heading back to a KaibaCorp. People were still heavy in the streets, though traffic was flowing.

He liked to think this was over with, but there was probably some kind of paperwork to edit or review or file. Something to transcribe into the computer. He would do that quick, before the medicine wore off, and then go home and crash for 72 hours so he could sweat this mess out.

Somewhere along the way though, he fell asleep. His eyes were so heavy, his sleep was so lacklustre, he couldn't help it. But he only knew he'd dozed off when a tap on the shoulder woke him up. He sputtered awake, pressing his wrist to his mouth. He wiped his nose.

"Glad you could join us, Wheeler," Kaiba said.

Crap. He'd fallen asleep. At work.

Kiss the nice job goodbye, right down the toilet. He was writing his resume in his head. Maybe the secretary would give him a good reference.

"Sorry, I jus'...I uh..."

"You're sick as a dog."

Joey climbed out of the car and staggered to followed Kaiba who went at a pitiable slow pace for him. "Ha ha. Very funny man. I'm not. Its just..."

A few unintelligible words passed through Joey's lips. More like hot air, and he was struggling to understand. Maybe the fever was back again, because with the setting sun, it was very cold. But Kaiba's pure white suit caught all of the sunset colours, a palette of oranges, pinks, and umber-purple swirled together. His skin had darkened to a dark ember, chestnut hair blending in, like Hell had overtaken him as some kind of demonic presence ready to reign down his fury.

Literally fired. There was a first for everything.

But his imperious eyes remained unchanged. The light caught them just right, lightened them and widened them to glowing half-moons, casing every inch of Joey. As kind as his unfurrowed brow seemed, Joey knew what was coming. He wouldn't be deceived by Kaiba's unchanged expression, or by the severity of a fever clouding his brain and making his heart palpitate in fear...or lust...no, definitely fear.

"Mokuba has it, too,” Kaiba said. 

"He...he what?"

"He's ill, too. It's why he wasn't on the field today,” Kaiba said. As the sun faded, the Hellish shades faded from Kaiba, and he looked completely spent from the long day. "He knows what sick days are. Do you?"

"Yeah, I do. Also know that you're an asshole sometimes. Can't exactly call off on a big day like this, ya know? Or like, fuckin' ever and I—," Joey coughed into his arm before reaching for the handkerchief, "—I ain't gonna be some two-bit slacker."

Kaiba sighed. "You're annoying."

"Thanks."

"You could have been a danger to me or yourself."

Joey smirked and mouthed the words, but it faded as he thought about it. Could have been a danger to himself. Yeah. True. Even Serenity had said not to wake up in the hospital. "I'm alright, ya know. Jus' a cold."

"I thought it was allergies."

"I lied," Joey said.

He began to walk towards the building. The paperwork needed finished up before the weekend. Kaiba's hand landed firm on his shoulder and shoved him back. "Go home, Wheeler."

Joey batted the hand away. "Got stuff to do."

"That's not what I told you to do." The back of Kaiba's hand, cool and inviting, pressed against his forehead. "Go. Home. You're burning up, and it makes you useless. I don't need useless employees."

Joey's shoulder's sagged, and he was trying to figure out what he was going to tell Serenity. There had to be a less painful way to word it than being fired for 'being useless'.

Slowly, Joey unclipped his badge from his waist and handed it Kaiba.

"Are you quitting, Joseph?" Kaiba asked, brow quirked.

"Wh—no. Ain't ya lettin' me go?"

"Other than the fact that it's illegal to let you go for illness? No. You're being useless _and_ stupid now. Wonderful." Kaiba pressed the badge back into Joey's hand. "Go home. Rest. Call a doctor. I don't care what you do, but don't spread your germs all over me or my building. And make sure you're in Monday, 7:30. Like usual."

The badge was clutched tight. "You're...I don't get it."

Kaiba pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of course you’re this damned dense. You're. Not. Fired. If I wanted you fired, I would have done it a long time ago."

"So ya don't need me?"

Kaiba stood akimbo, lips flat. "Clearly not. And yet, here you are. Maybe, Jospeh, just maybe...I want you. Hm?"

"You..."

Kaiba turned away and headed for the front door. "Go home! And so help me, if you get me sick..."

The threat wasn't paid attention to. Instead, Joey smiled into the snot-smeared handkerchief with the neat 'SK' monogrammed in the corner, and pressed it to his nose to blow but, for a second, he smelled the musky cologne.

Want.

Even if he was feverish, it was really fine to hear.

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what you think! Want a whump-y story? Hit up my bingo board on tumblr @lafeae


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